Superman swore up and down that Jack Kadere hadn't defeated him—that he was here because he'd grown up on Earth.
It was all for nothing.
Amanda Waller and General Swanwick didn't believe a word of it. Waller had watched Jack Kadere wipe the floor with Superman with her own eyes. If Jack hadn't knocked him out, would Superman really have come here willingly? Not a chance.
"Kal-El, I hope you'll remain calm." Waller's tone left no room for negotiation. "If you truly have no hostile intentions, stay here while we work out a solution. If you leave—we may not be able to stop you. But there is someone on Earth who can."
"I'm not a bad person," Superman said helplessly.
"That's not the point." Waller shook her head.
Good or bad didn't matter right now. What mattered was that he was an alien. The old suspicion—that those from different origins might harbor different loyalties—wasn't necessarily correct, but caution wasn't unreasonable either.
"I'll try speaking with Jack Kadere," Waller said, turning to Swanwick.
"Good." Swanwick nodded, then walked to the door and beckoned. A woman in military uniform stepped inside.
"This is Major Carol Ferris. She's currently serving as my secretary and will accompany you to meet with Jack Kadere. If he has any conditions, she can relay them to me."
Carol Ferris nodded to Waller, and the two women left together.
Inside the hotel room.
The curtains rustled gently in the breeze, sunlight streaming through the window and warming Jack Kadere's skin. Whether basking in sunlight actually made him stronger didn't matter—the sensation alone was satisfying enough.
He tilted his head to glance at Lois Lane beside him, her back turned, the smooth curve of her spine tracing a line that held his attention for a moment.
He looked away and picked up the piece of Kryptonite he'd set aside.
During the flight back yesterday, Jack had noticed that Kryptonite affected him somewhat. His abilities and physiology weren't purely Kryptonian, so after the characteristics neutralized each other, the impact was minimal. Superman, though—Superman couldn't handle it. This stuff could kill him.
The reason Jack had cut off a piece was simple: he wanted to do something interesting.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound came soft and measured. Jack turned toward the door, and the structure of everything in his line of sight shifted instantly—like looking through an X-ray, seeing straight through solid matter.
Two skeletons stood outside. No, wait—two people. Two women, though one of them was considerably overweight.
The knocking stirred Lois Lane awake. She opened her eyes groggily, watching Jack wrap a towel around his waist and stand. Confusion crossed her face, but when he waved to indicate everything was fine, she started to drift back to sleep—until he opened the door and let the visitors in. Then she jolted fully awake and yanked the sheet up to cover herself.
"Something I can help you with?" Jack asked Amanda Waller.
Waller's expression was ugly. Very ugly. "Those items are extremely important. If they get out, it will cause significant problems. I expect you to return them."
"What?" Jack paused, then realization hit and he laughed. "A.R.G.U.S.'s vault got robbed?"
"Don't play dumb. This morning, three people attacked an A.R.G.U.S. secure warehouse and stole everything inside. Two of them were metahumans—one could release sonic waves powerful enough to tear through the warehouse walls and multiple security layers. And one of them was Bette Sans Souci." Waller had received this news on her way here.
She didn't need to think twice to know who was behind it. This was definitely Jack Kadere's doing. Payback for using Bette Sans Souci to threaten him? How had he even found the warehouse's location?
"I ordered it." Jack shrugged. "My collection room was looking a little empty, so I grabbed some things to fill it out. A.R.G.U.S. has the best selection of collectibles around—blame yourselves for hoarding so much."
The sheer audacity left Waller momentarily speechless. After a long pause, she said stiffly, "Those items are vital. I will find a way to recover them."
"Suit yourself." Jack's tone was flat. "Is that the only reason you came?"
"It's about Superman." Waller forced herself to refocus.
"Hello. I'm Major Carol Ferris, here on behalf of General Swanwick to discuss the Kryptonian situation." Carol's gaze flickered briefly to Lois Lane clutching the sheet on the bed, then to Jack Kadere and his well-defined abs. She extended her hand.
"Hello." Jack reached out to shake it—but at the same time leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
The gesture caught Carol completely off guard. Her composure cracked, color rising to her face.
"You're beautiful," Jack said with an easy smile.
"Thank you," she managed, flustered.
Then a harsh sound cut through the room—like radio frequency interference.
"The phone!"
The noise came from everyone's phones simultaneously. Jack walked back to the bedside and picked up his. The screen had lit up on its own, flickering with static as though struggling for signal. Then several English letters appeared, accompanied by intermittent audio.
"I am General Zod... I come from a distant planet. I have crossed the vast sea of stars to find you. You have sheltered one of my subjects. I demand that you hand him over. For reasons of his own, he has chosen to conceal his existence from you. He has tried his best to blend in with you. He looks like you—but he is not of your kind. If anyone knows his location, then the fate of your planet rests in your hands. Kal-El, do you hear me? Surrender within twenty-four hours, or let the entire world bear the consequences."
The message played in countless languages and scripts, repeating over and over before finally cutting off. The phones returned to normal.
Carol Ferris's and Amanda Waller's phones rang almost simultaneously—calls flooding in about the broadcast.
The message had appeared on televisions and mobile devices worldwide. Combined with Lois Lane's published story about the Kryptonians, Kal-El, and General Zod, people everywhere were losing their minds.
Aliens were real. And they had come to Earth.